Stencil Cat Art for Toddlers

She loves cats. She has a leopard blanket she carries everywhere and a little Meow (as she calls it) that she cuddles with. It’s really cute! Every time she sees a cat, she says, “Meow, Mommy! Meow!”

So, I thought it would be fun to make a stencil out of cardboard and do some art! She was all about the paint. She did, however, end up painting her face. So, there’s that. But, that’s to be expected with a two year old.

It washes right off with water. So, it’s really not a big deal. My only suggestion is to wear clothes you don’t care about getting paint on because it doesn’t come out of your clothes. But, it comes right off of skin.

Read on to see how to make the Stencil Cat Art:

What You Need

Cardboard

Pen/Pencil

Scissors

White cardstock

2 Acrylic Paint Colors (we used pink and blue)

2 paint brushes

paper bags (to lay down as your workstation)

Spare cardboard (to use as your palette)

Tape

Black Marker

How to Make Stencil Cat Art for Toddlers

Step One. Draw an outline of a cat’s head onto the cardboard and cut out the outline.

Step Two. Roll some tape to put on the back of the cat stencil (I used 4 pieces of tape so it would stick better) and stick the stencil to the center of your cardstock.

Step Three. Put a squirt of paint of both colors on your spare cardboard. We reuse a lid from a shoe box for our palette.

Step Four. Have your toddler paint away. Use one paint brush per color. I held one brush while my daughter painted. I guided her at first to only use one color at a time. When she was ready for the other color, I switched her paint brushes.

Step Five. Lay your cat art out in the sun to dry. Sometimes, when I want to hang something up right away and don’t want to wait for it to dry, I use my blow dryer to dry the paint. It drys so much faster that way. It takes about 3 minutes.

Step Six. Take off the piece of cardboard. If it came out really looking like a cat’s head, you can keep it as is. I decided to draw a face on it. My kiddos like everything to have a face. Once, I drew the face on it, my daughter said, “Meow!” So, I think that means she’s happy! LOL! Here it is without the face:

Step Eight. Put it in a frame and hang it in a room. Or hang as is!

The possibilities with this art activity are endless! You can do whatever shape, animal, bug, letter or whatever you’d like! I can’t wait to see all of your art! I think we will do a butterfly next to go along with The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities we have been doing. Have fun painting!

If you make one, please tag me @themamaworkshop on Instagram! I’d love to see how your toddler’s art turned out!